Hatch tent



March 8, 1966 A. ERIKSSON 3,238,954

HATCH TENT Filed April 29, 1964 s Sheets-Sheet 1 1N VE N TOR. ALF fw/rssa/v March 8, 1966 A. ERIKSSON 3,238,954

HATCH TENT Filed April 29, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 141 F fw/csa/v IWQ- W ,4 TTOP/UEVS March 8, 1966 A. ERIKSSON 3,238,954

HATCH TENT Filed April 29, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VENTOR. 44F fAV/(ssm/ BY lbw/ 62; Q'W

United States Patent 3,238,954 HATCH TENT Alf Eriksson, Koroisvagen 15 A 13, Helsingfors, Finland Filed Apr. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 363,556 4 Claims. (Cl. 135-6) The present invention relates to weather-proof covers and, more particularly, to an improved tent or umbrella for cargo hold hatches of ships adapted to prevent rain, sleet or snow from getting into the hold or on the cargo While loading or unloading the cargo when the ship is docked.

Heretofore, various forms of tents or canopies have been proposed for the aforementioned purpose but all were subject to disadvantage or objection for one reason or another.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide such a tent which is not subject to disadvantages or objections.

Another object is to provide such a tent which can be rigged by employing facilities and equipment already on the ship with a minimum of alteration or modification thereof if required.

Another object is to provide such a tent which can be rigged securely with minimum effort and will not fall down.

Another object is to provide such a tent which shelters the cargo while being moved from the ship to the dock and vice versa without interfering with the cargo handling equipment.-

Another object is to provide such a tent which will shed rainfall without allowing rain water to enter the hold.

Another object is to provide such a tent which can be reversed to enable the same to be used for port or starboard docking.

Another object is to provide such a tent which can be adjusted to take care of the position of the ship with respect to the dock due to the rise and fall of the tide.

A further object is to accomplish the foregoing in a simple, practical and economical manner.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of one form of tent in accordance with the present invention arranged on the ship to cover the hatch and on the dock.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 on FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded perspective view of a portion of the tent and a boom to which the tent is shackled.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a detail of the top section of the tent.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a simplified form of tent in accordance with the present invention arranged on the ship and on the dock.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the tent shown in FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings in detail there is shown a dock D having a floor F and an overhang O; a docked ship S having an open hatch H for a cargo hold C, four boorns B B B and B pivoted near the deck of the ship, and a mast M provided with a crossarm CA and a crosstree CT above the crossarm; and a tent T in accordance with the present invention. Assuming that the mast M is the main or foremast of the ship, the ship is docked at the port side with the overhang O 3,238,954 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 extending towards the port rail of the ships main deck. The mast M is fore of the hatch H, the booms B and B are closely adjacent the fore of the hatch and between the hatch and the mast and are aligned port to starboard, and the booms B and B are pivoted on posts P and P near the aft corners of the hatch, respectively, and are aligned port to starboard.

The tent T shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises inclined trapezoidal offshore and inshore side sections 10 and 11, respectively, inclined trapezoidal fore and aft side sections 12 and 13, respectively, all of these sections having substantially parallel upper and lower edges, fold means in the form of a quadrangular top section 14 connecting the upper edges of the side sections 10, 11, 12 and 13, and folds 15 connecting the side edges of the offshore and inshore sections 10 and 11, respectively, to the side edges of the fore and aft sections 12 and 13, respectively.

The tent has a fore and aft bottom length greater than the fore and aft length of the hatch, a port to starboard bottom width greater than the beam of the ship, so that a portion of the fore and aft sections and the inshore section extend across the shore side rail of the ship and across the dock floor, a port to starboard top width less than the bottom width, and a fore and aft top length less than the top length, whereby the tent has the general shape of a frustum of an oblong rectangular pyramid.

The lower edge of the offshore section 10 is provided with ropes 16 for fastening the same closely to the deck of the ship, and the lower edges of the fore and aft sections 12 and 13, respectively, are provided with ropes 17 for fastening the same closely to the deck and to the dock floor or the dock building. Since docks are constructed so that the main or hatch deck of a ship is positioned a substantial distance above the dock floor at both high and low tides, the inshore portions of the fore and aft sections and the inshore section extend across the dock floor and under the overhang and their lower edges are spaced above the dock floor to provide an opening under the lower edge of the inshore section for passing cargo there through. In this manner, the hatch is completely covered and the cargo hold is protected from all sides and the cargo is completely protected at all times while moving between the hatch and the dock building As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the top section 14 has grommets 18 at the four corners thereof for cooperation with ropes or cables associated with the booms, the mast crossarm and the posts; and the booms have eyes 19 adapted to extend through the grommets and to have the ropes or cables secured thereto, whereby the upper ends of the booms raise and support the tent and the ropes or cables are adapted to raise and lower the booms.

For example, ropes R R R and R are respectively fastened to the eyes of the booms B B B and 13,, with the ropes R and R passing through pulleys on mast crossarm and extending to hoisting apparatus (not shown) and with the ropes R and R passing through pulleys on the posts P and P and extending to hoisting apparatus (not shown).

In order to prevent rain water from accumulating on the top section 14, the top section is provided with a diagonal crease or fold 20, a shackle 21 (FIG. 4) is secured to the top section at about the midpoint thereof, and a rope or cable R is secured to the post P and passes through the shackle and through a pulley on the mast crosstree and extends to hoisting apparatus (not shown) for raising the crease 20, so that the top section is inclined to enable rain water to run 01f.

By providing the grommets 18 (FIG. 3) and a double shackle (FIG. 4) having upper and lower portions 22 and 23, respectively, the tent can be turned inside out or upside down, whereby the tent is adapted for both port and starboard loading.

Also, the tent cannot fall down and can be kept up overnight, so that the hatches need not be closed at the end of the work day and reopened the following day.

In FIGS. and 6, another embodiment of the present invention is shown which is simplified to require less rigging in that only the booms B and B the mast crossarm CA and the ropes R and R are utilized.

The tent shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 comprises inclined triangular offshore and inshore side sections 110 and 111, respectively, inclined trapezoidal fore and aft side sections 112 and 113, respectively, fold means in the form of a crease or fold 114 connecting the upper edges of the fore and aft sections, and folds 115 connecting the side edges of the sections 110, 111, 112 and 113.

The tent is provided with ropes 116 and 117 for tying down the side sections in the manner described hereinbefore, and the fold 114 has a grommet 118 at each end thereof for receiving the eyes 119 of the booms B and B to which the ropes R and R are attached in the manner already described. Since the upper edges of the fore and aft sections meet at an angle, rainwater will run oif and the shackle arrangement can be eliminated.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides an improved tent for covering ship batches and protecting the cargo during loading or unloading thereof. The tent is readily rigged for use and can be taken down and folded up with a minimum of effort.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts herein, without depart ing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A tent for a cargo hold hat-ch of a docked ship having two port to starboard aligned booms adjacent each fore and aft side of the hatch and having a mast spaced in a fore and aft direction from the aforementioned sides and provided with a crossarm above the upper free ends of the booms, which tent comprises an offshore side section, fore and aft side sections, a top section, and an inshore side section extending shorewise across the ship side and over a portion of the dock for securement to said dock and having its lower edge spaced above the floor of the dock to provide an opening for passing cargo therethrough; inclined fold means connecting said inshore and offshore side sections to said fore and aft side sections; substantially horizontal port to starboard extending fold means connecting said fore and aft side sections provided with grommet means at the port and starboard ends for cooperation with halyards associated with the mast crossarm and the booms to raise and support the tent; said top section of said tent overlying upper ends of said booms and thereby being carried by said booms, whereby said booms are entirely underneath said tent, said tent having a fore and aft bottom length greater than the fore and aft length of the hatch, a port to starboard bottom width greater than the beam of the ship so that said fore and aft side sections with said inshore side section extend inshore beyond the shoreside of the ship and across the dock, and an overall top port to starboard width of the tent less than the bottom width of the tent; means at the bottom of said offshore side section for securing the same to the deck of the ship; and means at the bottom of said fore and aft side sections for securing the same to the deck of the ship and to the dock.

2. A tent according to claim 1, wherein said top section has a fold extending from opposite corners thereof, and is provided with means at the ends of said fold for raising said fold to arrange said top section into two oppositely inclined triangular portions to cause rainwater to run off said top section.

3. A tent according to claim 2, wherein said top section fold has a double shackle intermediate its fold ends for enabling said tent to be turned inside out and therefore used reversibly.

4. A tent according to claim 1, wherein said top section has grommet means at the corners thereof for cooperation with a pair of booms at both the fore and aft sides of the hatch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,640,188 8/1927 Grunbock. 2,163,072 6/1939 Spelrnan -6 2,186,535 1/1940 MacGeorge 135-8 X 2,201,781 5/ 1940 MacGeorge. 3,183,916 5/1965 Marino 1356 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

L. I. SANTISI, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TENT FOR A CARGO HOLD HATCH OF A DOCKED SHIP HAVING TWO PORT TO STARBOARD ALIGNED BOOMS ADJACENT EACH FORE AND AFT SIDE OF THE HATCH AND HAVING A MAST SPACED IN A FORE AND AFT DIRECTION FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED SIDES AND PROVIDED WITH A CROSSARM ABOVE THE UPPER FREE ENDS OF THE BOOMS, WHICH TENT COMPRISES AN OFFSHORE SIDE SECTION, FORE AND AFT SIDE SECTIONS, A TOP SECTION, AND AN INSHORE SIDE SECTION EXTENDING SHOREWISE ACROSS THE SHIP SIDE AND OVER A PORTION OF THE DOCK FOR SECUREMENT TO SAID DOCK AND HAVING ITS LOWER EDGE SPACED ABOVE THE FLOOR OF THE DOCK TO PROVIDE AN OPENING FOR PASSING CARGO THERETHROUGH; INCLINED FOLD MEANS CONNECTING SID INSHORE AND OFFSHORE SIDE SECTIONS TO SAID FORE AND AFT SIDE SECTIONS; SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PORT TO STARBOARD EXTENDING FOLD MEANS CONNECTING SAID FORE AND AFT SIDE SECTIONS PROVIDED WITH GROMMET MEANS AT THE PORT AND STARBOARD ENDS FOR COOPERATION WITH HALYARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAST CROSSARM AND THE BOOMS TO RAISE AND SUPPORT THE TENT; SAID TOP SECTION OF SAID TENT OVERLYING UPPER ENDS OF SAID 